Making and canning your own spaghetti sauce is
something families remember years later. No store bought spaghetti sauce
compares with the taste of that made from your own tomatoes from your garden or
fresh-picked from a local farm! In the middle of the winter, you can make
a meal with your spaghetti sauce and taste the summer flavor of fresh tomatoes.

This recipe is to make a very small batch; 1 quart at a time. Why?
Perhaps you only get a few tomatoes at a time (you could also follow steps 1
to 5 and freeze the tomatoes until you have enough). Or perhaps you
want to make it to eat right away, or within a week, stored in the
refrigerator. Then this recipe is for you! If you want
to make several jars or more to
store to use later, see this page.

Ingredients and Equipment

If you plan to store the spaghetti sauce in the refrigerator and/or eat
it promptly, then you don't need to can it. If you do want to can a
single quart, here's what you'll need:

1 Water bath Canner (a huge pot to sanitize the jars
after
filling (about $30 to $35 - $30 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores. Note: we
sell many sizes and types of canners for all types of stoves and needs
- see canning supplies). Tomatoes are on
the border between the high-acid fruits that can be preserved in a
boiling-water bath and the low-acid fruits, vegetables and meats
that need pressure canning.

Pint or quart canning jars (Ball or Kerr jars can
be found at Publix, Kroger, Safeway and local "big box" stores - about $9 per dozen jars including the lids and rings).

Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with
a gum binder that seals them against the top of the jar. They
may only be used once.

Rings - metal bands that secure the lids
to the jars. They may be reused many times.

Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)

Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling
water where you sanitize them. ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)

Process - How to Make Spaghetti
Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes

Step 1 - Selecting the
tomatoes

It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better
quality tomatoes!

At right is a picture
of tomatoes from my garden - they are so much better than anything from
the grocery store. And if you don't have enough, a pick-your-own farm is
the pace to go! At right are 4 common varieties that will work:

Top left:
Beefsteak

Top right:
Lemon Boy, yellow

Bottom left:
Roma, paste-type

Bottom
right: Better Boy

The
picture at right shows the best variety of tomato to use: Roma; also called
paste tomatoes. They have fewer sides, thicker, meatier walls, and
less water.
And that means thicker sauce in less cooking time!

Also, you don't want mushy,
bruised or rotten tomatoes!

Step 2 - Removing the tomato skins

Here's a trick you may not know: put the
tomatoes, a few at a time in a large pot of boiling water for no more than
1 minute (30 - 45 seconds is usually enough)

then....

Plunge them into a waiting bowl of ice water.

This makes the skins slide
right off of the tomatoes! If you leave the skins in, they become
tough and chewy in the sauce, not very pleasant.

Note: some people prefer to skip this step and just blend the whole
tomato after removing the seeds , stems and excess water.

Step 3 - Removing seeds and water

After you have peeled the skins off the
tomatoes, cut the tomatoes in half. Now we need to remove the seeds
and excess water.

Step 4 - Squeeze of the seeds and water

Just like it sounds: wash your hands then
squeeze each tomato and use your finger or a
spoon to scoop and shake out
most of the seeds. You don't need to get fanatical about it;
removing just most will do. Another way to do it is to cut each tomato in half, across it, instead of lengthwise. Then just shake the seeds and juice out.

Step 5 - Drain the tomatoes

Toss the squeezed (Squozen? :) tomatoes into
a colander or drainer, while you work on others. This helps more of the
water to drain off. You may want to save the liquid: if you then
pass it through a sieve, screen or cheesecloth, you have fresh tomato
juice; great to drink cold or use in cooking! By draining the water
off now, you'll end up with a thicker spaghetti sauce in less cooking
time! And that preserves vitamins (and your sanity).

FYI, the 20 pounds of raw, fresh, whole tomatoes you started with should
produce about 7 - 9 pints of "squeezed" tomatoes

Step 6 - Get the
jars and lids sanitizing

The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle.
I get that going while I'm preparing everything else, so it's done by the
time I'm ready to fill the jars.

Be sure to let it go through the rinse
cycle to get rid of any soap!

Lids: Put the very hot (but not quite boiling; around 180 F, steaming water is fine) water for at least
several minutes.

Note: everything gets
sanitized in the water
bath (step 7)
anyway, so this just helps to ensure
there is no spoilage later!)

Step 7. Mix or your own seasoning?

Either works equally well. The spaghetti
sauce mix (see the box above) for canning has the advantage of being tested and VERY easy to
use. It's basically
corn starch, onion powder, salt and seasoning. It doesn't have any
preservative to improve the canning, so the advantage is just that it is
easier. You'd have to use 1/3 of the packet to make 1
quart

And if you like your spaghetti sauce
thick, add either tomato paste, - 1 or 2 small cans should do
it, or simply boil it down a bit more, or add 4 Tablespoons of
ClearJelⓇ starch - here's where to get it: (called "corn flour" in the UK)

A note about spices: Less spice, especially garlic and onions in
canned sauce is better. They tend
to strengthen and sometimes become bitter in storage. So use less when you
prepare the sauce and add more when you actually use it, if you want!

Step 8 - Combine and bring the sauce to a
gentle simmer

Combine the tomatoes and spices together in a big pot. There's
generally no need to add liquid, most types of tomatoes have so much
water, we will need to boil it down to drive off much of the water to
thicken the sauce. If your tomatoes are watery, boil it down before
you add the spices, to avoid them becoming too strong.

You don't need to overcook it; just bring it
to boiling to sanitize it, mix the seasonings and cook down the tomatoes.

As they cook, the tomatoes will fall apart into sauce with out much need of
mushing!

Step 9 - Fill the jars with sauce and put the lid and
rings on

Fill them to within 1/4-inch of the top,
seat the lid and hand-tighten the ring around them.

NOTE: if you want to freeze the sauce instead, just fill your freezer
containers (I like Ziploc freezer bags in the quart size), fill them
completely, eliminate air pockets, seal them and pop them in the freezer.
You're done!

Be sure the contact surfaces (top of the jar
and underside of the ring) are clean to get a good seal!

If you plan to eat the spaghetti sauce right
away, or store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks (or the freezer for
1 year), then you are done - stop here - Steps 10 on are if you intend to
can the sauce to store on the shelf at room temperature.

Step 10 - Process (Boil) the jar in the canner

Put them
in the canner and keep them covered with at least 1 inch of water. Keep
the water
boiling. Process the jars in a boiling-water bath for 35 minutes for pints
and 40 minutes for quarts.

If you have a pressure canner, use it and
process the sauce for the time in the tables below, as appropriate for
your altitude, jar size and type of canner.

Table 1.
Recommended process time for Spaghetti Sauce Without Meat
in a dial-gauge pressure canner.

Canner Gauge Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of

Style of Pack

Jar Size

Process Time

0 - 2,000 ft

2,001 - 4,000 ft

4,001 - 6,000 ft

6,001 - 8,000 ft

Hot

Pints

20 min

11 lb

12 lb

13 lb

14 lb

Quarts

25

11

12

13

14

Table 2.
Recommended process time for Spaghetti Sauce Without Meat
in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.

Canner Gauge Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of

Style of Pack

Jar Size

Process Time

0 - 1,000 ft

Above 1,000 ft

Hot

Pints

20 min

10 lb

15 lb

Quarts

25

10

15

This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning,"
Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 1994.

Reviewed June 2006.

Pressure
canners work better for tomatoes and other low acid foods - you'll get
less spoilage with a pressure canner.

I
prefer a pressure canner
(see photo below) or a larger 33 quarter water bath canner, shown at right - it is much deeper, so it is
neater, no boilovers, and allows you to cover the tallest jars with
several inches of water to ensure safety! To order one, click on Canning supplies and select the canner that is right for your stove (regular or
flat bottomed for glass or ceramic stoves)

Step 11 - Done

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or
bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like, but if you leave them on, at least loosen them quite a bit, so they don't rust in place due to trapped moisture. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

Other Equipment:

2. Lid lifter
- to remove lids from the
pot
of boiling water
(sterilizing )

3. Lid
- disposable - you may only
use them once

4. Ring
- holds the lids on the jar until after
the jars cool - then you don't need
them

5. Canning jar funnel
- to fill the jars

Home Canning Kits

This is the same type of standard canner that my grandmother
used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and
spaghetti sauce. This complete kit includes everything you need and
lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs,
lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel,
labels, bubble freer, and the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book. It's
much cheaper than buying the items separately. You'll never need anything else except jars & lids! To see more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!For more information
and current pricing:

Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger and Safeway and local "big box" stores; sometimes Big Lots and even hardware stores

$4.50

seasoning

See
step 7

$2.00?

Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger and Safeway and local "big box" stores

$2.00

Spaghetti mix

1
packet

$3.00 per
package

Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger and Safeway and local "big box" stores; sometimes Big Lots and even hardware stores

Total

$6.50 total
or about $0.95 per jar INCLUDING the jars - which you can
reuse!

* - This assumes you already have the pots, pans, ladles, and
reusable equipment. Note that you can reuse the jars! Many
products are sold in jars that will take the lids and rings for
canning. For example, Classico Spaghetti sauce is in quart sized
jars that work with Ball and Kerr lids and rings. Note that
the Classico's manufacturer does not recommend reuse of their jars:
see what they have to say on this
page:

Tomatoes are a borderline acid / low acid fruit (see
this page about tomato acidity for more information) - adding lemon juice
helps, processing at least 35 minutes in the water bath canner, or better still,
using a pressure canner almost eliminates spoilage. If you don't have a
pressure canner, you must boost the acid level of the sauce, by adding 2
tablespoons of lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart of
sauce.

The question everyone asks: Can you add meat?

With a water bath canner, absolutely, definitely NOT. The
temperatures do not get high enough to kill the type of bacteria that can attack
meat and make you sick, or even kill you. However, with a pressure canner,
it IS possible. I have
complete directions here! I don't do it, simply because... have you ever tasted
canned meat? Yes, it is called SPAM. My recommendation is to can
without the meat and add fresh browned ground meat or meatballs when you use the
sauce!

Meat, Part 2 - I noticed you said it is best not to put meat in the sauce,
as it might spoil as a child my mom canned all her meat with nothing but salt in
it as she had no freezer. I cannot remember a problem with it going bad. She
submerged the jars in a canning pot with a wire rack under it and boiled it for
4 hours always making sure the meat in the jar was covered with water so it
would not spoil, also the jars kept covered with water at all times for four
hours of boiling. "

It is
statistically possible to engage in a very dangerous activity and still
experience no harm. For example, one of my father's friends charged the
beach at Iwo Jima in World War 2, (definitely, one of the riskiest things
you could do) and yet he survived without a scratch, while 7 of 10 of his
platoon died. Canning meat in a water bath is the same.

The problem is
that Botulism is not killed by temperatures under 240. Water baths only
reach 212. You could boil it for 4 days and the botulism would still
survive. By the time you ate the jars, enough may not have grow to make you
ill. But it is still very, very dangerous.

I could send
you dozens and dozens of statements supporting what I stated above from many
universities and food authorities. Here is one example from the
University of Maine:

Match the canner to the food

There are two types of home canning methods:
boiling-water-bath canners and pressure canners. The type of canner that you
use should be based upon the type of food you are preserving. According to
UMaine Food ScienceSpecialist Beth Calder, fruits, pickled foods,
sauerkraut, marmalades, fruit spreads, jams, jellies, fruit butters (except
for pumpkin) and salsa can be safely preserved using the water-bath canning
method. "However, make sure you use a scientifically tested recipe from a
reputable resource," she says.

All other foods should be preserved using a
pressure canner. This is because botulism-producing bacteria produce spores
that can survive boiling water temperatures, but are destroyed using a
pressure canner with the appropriate time and pressure, which reaches
temperatures between 240 and 250 degrees F.

I have read in other homemade spaghetti sauce recipes that you need to
cook the mixture for at least 4-5 hours. Is this necessary?

I suppose if you really want to make sure that absolutely no vitamins
survive, you could cook it that long! :) The only reason people used to tomato
sauce that long was the Roma paste-type tomatoes, with thicker walls, meatier
with fewer seeds and less water didn't exist, so they had to cook it for hours
to get rid of water and thicken it. And of course, modern sauce mixes that
contain a little bit of corn starch as a thickener, also help shorten the time.

And for those who want to go strictly organic and au naturale, my method of
squeezing out the excess water and seeds eliminates much of the excess juice
(which you can save as tomato juice for drinking) and lets you start with a
thicker tomato pulp which means much shorter cooking time!

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